Aberdeen chief executive Alan Burrows has labelled the club’s lowly league position as unacceptable.
The Dons have slumped to ninth place in the Scottish Premiership and Burrows insists the Dons board accept their share of responsibility for the club’s struggles on the pitch this season.
The search for a new manager continues following Barry Robson’s dismissal on January 31.
Interim manager Neil Warnock, who was appointed for the rest of the campaign, lasted just 33 days as the club’s plight worsened, leading to former interim boss Peter Leven taking the helm for a second time this season.
With the club missing the deadline it set of making an appointment during the international break Aberdeen fans have grown restless at the current state of affairs at Pittodrie.
Burrows agrees it has not been good enough but has called for unity as the board continues its search for a new manager to lead the club’s recovery.
He said: “I’m not trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes here.
“I know for Aberdeen Football Club to be sitting in the position they are in is unacceptable.
“I totally take on board my area of responsibility and the board’s area of responsibility.
“We all accept that.
“However we can get through it and come out the other side better if we stick together when it is bad.
“If we reflect on what we think went wrong to be in this position and make those changes and move forward.
“That is what I would appeal for people to do. It’s difficult when it is not going well and I get that.
“I am a football fan myself and I am as passionate about this being successful as anyone – you should see me on a matchday.
“I get the frustrations and the anger but we can stick together and win these matches.
“We can have a right good go at the semi-final (against Celtic on April 20). There is no reason on our day we can’t go to Hampden Park and win that match and get to the Scottish Cup final.
“There is no reason why we can’t have a positive end to the season.
“And there is no reason why we can’t reflect on the areas that have not went well and try to put it right for next season.
“We will do that much better and much easier if we stick together.”
Burrows retains cause for optimism
Burrows knows on the field events shape the narrative at Pittodrie but he insists there is cause for optimism at Pittodrie despite a challenging campaign.
The chief executive agrees the league campaign has fallen short of expectations but he believes the season can still have a happy ending.
He said: “Despite the fact the results on the pitch have been way below expectations there is still a lot of good going on at the club.
“Sometimes it is so easy to forget that because we are Aberdeen Football Club and ultimately we are going to be judged on the pitch.
“That is where we should be judged as well but there is a lot of good things going on.
“The time for talking about them and developing them further is to come.
“Right now we have big games coming up in the league that we need to win and play well in.
“We have a manager to appoint who is going to give us not only an identity between now and the end of the season but give us an opportunity to go into the semi-final at Hampden.
“We also have a big summer coming again with recruitment and trying to make sure we do reflect on the things that haven’t gone well this year and put things in place.
“The focus right now for everyone at the club is winning football matches and appointing a manager.”
‘We understand fans’ frustrations’
The news a manager has not been appointed in the timescale set by the club has frustrated the Aberdeen support.
Burrows understands the fans’ concerns but has asked for the support to maintain their backing for the remaining games of the campaign.
He said: “The people at the club genuinely understand your frustrations.
“It has been an up and down season with some high points and too many low points.
“We understand it has not been easy for them.
“I also understand we are still getting huge backing.
“We are taking four figure massive crowds to away games which tells you how much they deserve a level of success.
“What I would ask them is, we have asked you to be patient and back the team, do that again this week and stick with us.
“Give the team and the staff all the backing you can because a positive result can certainly give us a huge emphasis going into the last seven games of the season and the Scottish Cup semi-final.
“We have to deliver results and we know that.
“I still think hopefully the direction of travel is still positive.
“We will have our troughs, we are in one at the moment but we will get through it together and we will be successful at the end of it.”
Burrows on chairman’s absence from social media
One of the bones of contention for the fans has been the absence of Burrows and chairman Dave Cormack on social media in the past three months.
Both Dons figures were visible on social media in the first half of the season but as the club’s fortunes dipped their interactions with supporters have been few and far between.
Burrows understands why their reduced presence may have been taken negatively but has tried to explain both he and his chairman’s stance.
The chief executive told RedTV: “Dave has communicated a little bit through social media and we have also put out a couple of statements as best we can.
“I have been noted as someone who is social media a fair bit through my career. I have tried to use that medium as much as I possibly can.
“Where I have had to pivot in my own personal communications is the fact that if I take the premise you can be on it when it’s going good and you’re not on it when it’s going bad then I’ve had to step back because it’s not fair if that’s the scenario.
“Bear in mind, a lot of the guys we are talking about or commenting on are employees of the club.
“I have got to be as mindful as I can of talking about the situation as is.
“What benefit can I bring by being either critical or reflective on social media at that particular point?
“Can the club the therefore comment more or be going more? Yes, we can.
“I think we can look and reflect on our communications at that particular part.
“For me the biggest focus is trying to get it right. Trying to make sure we do our talking internally and on the pitch as best we possibly can.
“I understand there is a frustration that comes from that.
“From my point of view, if I can’t fill in that gap or Dave can’t fill in that gap then the club needs to fill in that gap and that is something we will certainly look to achieve.”
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